Pacquiao’s dream and the Azkal dream going awry

By Al S. Mendoza

 

MANNY Pacquiao had a dream:  He talked to God and God told him to retire.

The Azkals had a dream: Enter the finals of the just-ended AFC Challenge Football Cup in Nepal.

Said Pacquiao: “I will heed God’s advice. I’m retiring.”

The Azkals didn’t realize their dream.

Know why?

The Azkals bungled a virtually won-game in the semifinals against Tajikistan.

In short, they only have themselves to blame.

Football is so demanding a game that every goal is like gold.

The Azkals had surged ahead, 1-0, in the 25th minute, only to blow away that lead in the last 10 minutes of the game.

In a six-minute span, the Azkals melted, allowing Tajikistan to score two goals.

First, it happened in the 80th minute on a total collapse on defense on the part of the Azkals.

Then, in the 86th, everything went awry when six Azkals dropped their defenses in a grisly turn of events.

The six had the Tajikistan player literally surrounded in the box and yet, the enemy was still able to sneak in a shot that proved to be the marginal goal.

Had the Azkals put on a Great Wall of a defense and went on to win the match, they would have faced North Korea in a historic finals for the Philippines.

The Azkals eventually finished third but, no, the bronze didn’t sparkle like gold – as some quarters had opined.

I won’t take that.

You don’t rain superlatives, heap sweet adjectives, on a bunch that had a grip on victory and still lost the handle in the end because of a virtual loss of focus and concentration.

In any battle, a minor distraction can be fatal.  That’s what happened to the Azkals.  And, unfortunately, they practically allowed that to happen – with the enemy immediately pouncing on it.

Now, to Pacquiao.

When will Pacquiao retire, he didn’t tell us with finality.

“After my fight with (Tim) Bradley, I will make my final decision about retiring,” he said.

Pacquiao will face Bradley on June 10 in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao, 33, is staking his WBO welterweight crown (147 lb) against Bradley, 26.

Although unbeaten in 28 fights, with 12 knockouts, Bradley is the underdog simply because the American hasn’t really fought a fighter as tough as Pacquiao.

In contrast, Pacquiao has literally fought the best of the best in the beak-busting business, including the really much-taller and much-bigger foes – with impeccable credentials yet.

In fact, he has beaten them all and, because of that, he should have retired as early as 2010 yet.

Even his mother, PacMom Dionisia, has been practically begging PacMan to retire all this time.

And now God has appeared in a dream, telling Pacquiao to retire.

Yes, Pacquiao has admitted he’d heed God’s will.  But he has yet to say when he will retire.

“I still want to fight Mayweather,” he said.

Is he serious?

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